Bhubaneswar: The mortal remains of four armed forces personnel, including Junior Warrant Officer Rana Pratap Das of Odisha, killed in the helicopter crash near Coonoor in Tamil Nadu earlier this week has been identified.
They are being transported to their respective hometowns, military officials were quoted as saying by PTI on Saturday.
Efforts to “positively identify” remaining mortal remains are continuing, they said.
Besides Rana’s, bodies of Junior Warrant Officer (JWO) Pradeep, Wing Commander P S Chauhan, Lance Naik B Sai Teja and Lance Naik Vivek Kumar have also been identified.
“The mortal remains have been released to close family members this morning. Mortal remains will move by air for last rites with appropriate military honour. Wreaths will be laid at the Base Hospital, Delhi Cantonment prior to departure,” ANI quoted an army official as saying.
Rana will be cremated near his village Krishanchandrapur in Kandhala panchayat in Odisha’s Angul district. “I am in touch with IAF authorities to coordinate the arrival of his mortal remains and the last rites will be performed with full military honours,” said Collector Siddhartha Shankar Swain.
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A special graveyard is being prepared in the village for the cremation of the brave soldier of Talcher, which is likely to take place on Monday. It is being built by Mahanadi Coalfields Ltd on the direction of Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
Meanwhile, villagers have also demanded that the road between Talabeda and Krishnachandrapur be named after him.
Born in 1987, Rana joined IAF in June 2006 and was transferred to Coimbatore three months back. The 34-year-old had got married in 2017 and he and his wife Sibangi, a dentist by profession, have a 19-month-old son.
Of the total 14 officers and personnel on board, 13 were killed in the horrific Mi-17V5 helicopter crash on Wednesday morning. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat, his wife Madhulika Rawat and his Brigadier Lidder were cremated with full military honours at Delhi’s Brar Square Crematorium on Thursday after their bodies were positively identified.
